Saturday, February 18, 2017

The State Of Metal Address 2017

I vowed not to get political here, but things are definitely changing around the world. That also means the metal scene. So let me state my politics immediately. I am not a liberal and I am not a conservative. I stand somewhere in the middle and consider politics a little bit of a game. Do I consider Donald Trump to be the devil? No, not by any means. But I cannot say that I agree with what he is doing either, at least as far as the environment is concerned. The man simply refuses to understand that the Antarctic is melting more than it ever has, which will have some rather horrid effects on the world as a whole and is already beginning to take effect. I read science books as a child, detailing the effects of global climate change on the world and apparently this wonderful pipeline is only going to make things worse through pollution, no matter how many jobs it creates. It's a very interesting situation.

I will say that since I have not gone to sign waving and pussy-hat wearing protests, and because I have not completely demonized the president in every way, shape and form as well as stood behind social justice ideals, I've ended up with more people blocking and unfriending me than can add me on social media. It's almost a joke. I'm making myself Public Enemy #1 in this industry because I'm one of the only people with enough sense to see a manufactured revolution is on the rise.

First of all, we have to realize that millionaires with power and connections are telling peasants to rise up and rebel against another millionaire that they didn't want to win the political game. There's a nice little conspiracy here (dare I call it a theory?) that makes a lot of sense to me. In the past, people did not trust their media or the entertainment industry. In comes Donald Trump, who criticizes both beyond recognition. Now the same industry that people didn't trust and put much stock in before, sheds crocodile tears and makes the peasants fear for the future of their existence. Eventually, the mean tyrant will be ousted, by which a new millionaire that the entertainment industry, media and elite members of society will openly support. Soon, the rest of the country and world as a whole will consider this choice to be a victory. The result of that victory will see an entire group of people once again lipping tongue to the entertainment and media industry, more than ever before. This will allow any corporate agendas to pass through without any real conflict from the people and much of that will be a form of socialism/globalism which is what other countries already seem to be working towards.

There are definitely some fears in globalism, which will change the way the world works, as well as the way that money is handled (a one-world digital currency) and some of these effects will actually be quite useful. I do support the Universal Basic Income, which will allow people who cannot find a job or refuse to work, some sort of income by which they can survive, rather than protesting higher wages. People don't want higher wages, they want liveable wages. They want any form of currency that will allow them to provide for their families. This may mean throwing the dollar out the window completely, or combining it with the euro and other means of currency in order to make something sustainable for all people on the globe. Of course, that also means that such a currency has the possibility of being corrupt. Aye, everything that man can put his hands on has the ability to become corrupt or to fail altogether. Some say that capitalism itself has become corrupt. That's more or less the truth, unless you are a millionaire yourself. Most millionaires in this country don't want to be less than millionaires. But everyone wants to be a millionaire!

So honestly, I don't see the Trump presidency going on for very long. Because people will keep complaining and the media will keep spending thousands on all of these ad campaigns, program guides (yes, there are daily program guides for people in this country to protest and march, and they have to be paying them some kind of wage in order for these people to leave their places of employment for so long, unless they are on some sort of welfare). I dunno folks, the whole country is pretty much in shambles and now even metal is becoming a part of it.

Last night, a Marduk show was completely cancelled because of Antifa and BLM members. Wow. Are we in pre-MetalGate times, already? Has the dragon that we'd long thought vanquished over a week's time in 2014 decided to rear it's ugly head again in 2017 as hordes of brainless trendhoppers attempt to destroy a music that they know nothing about? People who only know about a topic based on what they've read and not what they've experienced? Is this what 2017 is going to be like? Every black metal act on the face of the fucking globe thrown into a Neo-Socialist pile? Boy, I'd sure hate to be a real Neo-Socialist black metal band these days. Good thing that nothing like that actually exists... (sarcasm). But seriously, folks. I think we are for some very interesting times here in the heavy metal scene. Not to mention we have that awful repugnance, Lords Of Chaos releasing this year, which is only going to make it worse for black metal bands and fans. Just think, a whole fucking western culture that now considers black metal listeners to be killers and satanists. Not the kind of satanists you're thinking of either. Rather the murdering devil worshippers of a Satanic Panic film.

Good gravy, metal is really taking a beating this year. Sabbath is done, Lady Gaga (Do I embolden that?) is being considered a member of Metallica, Marduk was banned, Lords Of Chaos is set to release. What else can go wrong? Oh, I cannot wait for the days when I check out the comments section on a topic from Metal Injection or Blabbermouth (or the newly reformed Metal Hammer... did not see that coming) and find tons of religious-minded people and/or normal folks that have watched the film and it becomes the next fucking Deliverance, because of what some teenagers did two or three decades ago. Soon, all metal listeners would be branded with the same shit, as the republican house declares another war on metal - again. (We already had this once, during the Tipper Gore years). Then I guess Corey Taylor (since he doesn't have the balls of Dee Snider and Rob Halford) will get on his hands and knees and bawl into the defendant's table just like he does on his little Hello Kitty pillow every night and complain about how he's sorry for making such violent and offensive heavy metal albums. Who knows, maybe the guys from Avenged Sevenfold will get a shoulder up from Metallica as Gojira heads back to France where people aren't so closed-minded, and Nergal just gives the whole country a finger as the new Behemoth record releases exclusively to Poland in a compact disc format only. Little blogs like this will just go down in an instant, as Google succumbs to pressure and everything I worked for falls apart in front of me. I know, maybe all of this is an exagerration; but you'd be surprised all of the flack that one little fucking Hollywood movie can create. Or maybe you wouldn't.

In any case, between Trump, a manufactured revolution and all of the bullshit that is happening to heavy metal in the media (or is about to), this year is turning out to be just as great as the last one. I should also mention that I have not heard from my colleague since late October. He may never do this kind of work again. Who knows? I haven't heard from my other friend in quite a while too. I'm also at odds right now with another friend, which I hope we will work out. I am tired of people in my life walking out the door for one reason or another. Hopefully, I can bring some great heavy metal reviews (and other music too) in the months to come and maybe we'll all make it through this shit unscathed. If not, well... I don't even want to think about it.